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Coopwood to launch Bolivar Bullet in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Miss. — On April 8, the 104 year old Cleveland, Mississippi newspaper, The Bolivar Commercial announced they would stop publishing.

“Like everyone in this community, we were also sad to read The Bolivar Commercial was closing its doors,” says Scott Coopwood of Cleveland, who has been in the magazine and newspaper publishing business for thirty-one years.

“Every small town needs a newspaper for a variety of reasons,” said Cleveland Mayor Billy Nowell. “Many of us grew up reading The Bolivar Commercial and the announcement came as a big surprise.”

For Cleveland and Bolivar County to continue to have a newspaper, several of the town’s leaders met with Coopwood about the possibility of launching a newspaper to fill the void. Coopwood is the publisher of Delta Business Journal, Delta Magazine, Delta Ag Journal and The Welcome Guide. Additionally, he also published the town’s Sunday morning newspaper, The Cleveland Current from March 2011 until April of 2017.

“Scott was the logical choice to approach about publishing a newspaper for the town,” said Nowell. “No one could imagine Cleveland not having a newspaper.”

“The newspaper business is a challenging business today and with the pandemic sweeping the world, we had to think long and hard before jumping back in,” said Coopwood. “After several meetings, we decided to re-enter the newspaper business.”

Next week, on May 6, The Bolivar Bullet newspaper will make its debut. Initially, the weekly newspaper will be published on Wednesdays and mailed to 2,000 households and businesses in Cleveland and Bolivar County. Additional copies will be available on newsstands. Plans are to increase the circulation in the coming months.

“Our overall strategy will be to marry the printed newspaper on Wednesdays with our digital platforms that we update everyday,” said Coopwood. “Between the two, we’ll be able to deliver news to Cleveland and Bolivar County in a significant way.”

To advertise or subscribe, call 662.843.2700. The new website (www.bolivarbullet.com) will be launched at the end of this week.